The Federal Public Defender encourages qualified counsel to apply for membership on the CJA Panel for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Under our district’s CJA Plan, attorneys selected for the federal panel are generally required to have the following qualifications:
- Be a member of good standing of the federal bar of this district and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals;
- Maintain a primary, satellite, or shared office in this district;
- Possess strong litigation skills and meet the minimum prior litigation experience requirement as set forth in the CJA Plan; and
- Have significant experience representing persons charged with serious criminal offenses and demonstrate a commitment to the defense of people who lack the financial means to hire an attorney.
Attorneys who do not possess the experience set forth above but believe they have equivalent other experience are also encouraged to apply.
The application can be found here.
Practitioners who do not have federal criminal experience may be eligible for the mentor program. More information about the mentor program can be found here.
For more information about applying to the CJA panel, please visit the website for the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Questions relating to the CJA Panel can be directed to the Federal Public Defender at paw_cja-panel@fd.org.